Dairy Research Institute Seeks Innovation Ideas from Outside Industry

Nonprofit group the Dairy Research Institute (DRI), an organization established by U.S. dairy farmers, is calling for innovation ideas, both from within and outside the dairy industry. The open innovation program asks innovators to submit ideas via website www.DRIResearchSubmission.com. DRI will evaluate submissions and if interested in an idea, will contact the submitter, possibly to draw up a contract to fund research, etc.

DRI says it hopes the program will help the dairy industry accelerate research ideas and introduce new ideas that may already exist in other industries. The group hopes for solutions to reduce research time and costs involved with solving industry-wide issues. “The open innovation program expands our view to ensure the dairy industry benefits from the best innovative ideas-whether from within or outside our industry,” says Gregory Miller, PhD, DRI president.

“While the dairy industry has always been receptive to outside innovation, this effort formalizes the process to encourage the exchange of new ideas and partnerships with other industries,” adds Beth Rice, PhD, manager, DRI’s manager of scientific affairs. “Someone from a different field could have an existing solution to a dairy-specific challenge that we might not find without looking beyond our own industry.”